Marketing
by Gabriel Weinberg & Justin Mares
Why do good products die unseen?
Almost every failed start-up had a product, say Gabriel Weinberg, founder of the search engine DuckDuckGo, and Justin Mares. What it didn't have was traction, meaning real growth in customers. Their book is about how to get it, and why to start from day one.
The authors count 19 traction channels, from search ads, email and content marketing to trade shows, speaking and business development. They interviewed dozens of founders about how they grew. Most teams only try the channels they already know, which leaves the unfashionable ones less crowded and often cheaper.
The Bullseye is their five-step method for finding the channel that works. Brainstorm one idea for every channel. Rank them by how promising they look. Put the best three in the inner ring. Test each one cheaply. Then focus all your effort on the one that works best.
Weinberg and Mares's 50% rule says to spend half your time on product and half on traction, in parallel. Teams that build first and market later often launch to silence. Early channel tests also show what customers actually want, which changes what you build.
Set one traction goal that would change your company, such as a number of paying customers. Work back to the milestones you must hit on the way. Anything that doesn't move you along that path can wait, however interesting it is.
The 50% rule
Spend half your time building the product and half on getting customers.
19 channels
There are nineteen ways to get customers, and most founders only ever try the obvious few.
Bullseye
With the Bullseye, you list every channel, rank them, then run cheap tests on the best three.
One channel
Usually one channel brings most of your growth. Once you find it, put nearly all your effort there.
Channels fade
A channel that works now will get crowded and stop working, so keep testing others.
A story from the book
When Half.com launched, it struck a deal with the small town of Halfway, Oregon, to rename itself Half.com. National television and newspapers ran the story, and eBay bought the company later that year. The authors file it under unconventional PR, which suits start-ups that can't afford big ad campaigns.
One thing to try
Give yourself an hour. Write one specific idea for each of the 19 channels, even ones that feel silly for your business, like trade shows or offline ads. Circle the three most promising and plan a small, cheap test for each.
Knotd has the key ideas from 250+ non-fiction books, each in a few minutes, in plain words. Traction comes with a Spot the Trap case to make it stick.
Get the whole book on KnotdOpen in the appWhy do good products die unseen? Almost every failed start-up had a product, say Gabriel Weinberg, founder of the search engine DuckDuckGo, and Justin Mares. What it didn't have was traction, meaning real growth in customers. Their book is about how to get it, and why to start from day one.
Nineteen ways in; The Bullseye; Half on traction; The critical path.
Give yourself an hour. Write one specific idea for each of the 19 channels, even ones that feel silly for your business, like trade shows or offline ads. Circle the three most promising and plan a small, cheap test for each.
Yes. Knotd has the key ideas from Traction in a few minutes, in plain words, plus a Spot the Trap case to test them. It's one of 250+ non-fiction books in the app.
